Harvest comes to a finish at Pine Island Cranberry soon, and it’s been one heck of a ride!
We’re still using our traditional harvesting methods:
But we’ve also been working with new technology:
Last but not least, we’ve really enjoyed sharing how we love what we do!
As always, no matter what the final numbers are, we are growers…it’s what we do and who we are. And our team at Pine Island Cranberry will continue to do everything they do better every day!
Pine Island Cranberry always works toward doing what we do better every day. We’ve been working very hard to bring this year’s crop in with some new machinery…but we still have a crew out there with the older equipment, doing whatever it takes to finish their work!
Supervisor Jeremy Fenstermaker’s Green Team is out at Mike Hensel right now, using the old reel harvesters to knock berries off the vines. “Usually, we use the Gates Harrow on level bogs, or bogs with only one or two big picking patterns,” Jeremy says. (Each bog is picked in a specific pattern according to terrain, and the picking crew has to carefully move their harvesters around stakes which have been arranged by the team leader for maximum operational efficiency. Following this pattern allows for minimal damage to the vines.) “These bogs are older; they have ditches and aren’t very level, so we have to pick them with the reels. You need a guy leading to show where they’ve already picked. With the Gates Harrow, the water has to be low enough that Rick [Zapata] can use the fruit for a guide. With these bogs being so out of level, we can’t hold the water low enough for Rick to see where he’s picked already.”
So, while Rick is over helping next door at the Sooys’ operation (“Those bogs are nice and level, and the Sooys are great neighbors”), Jeremy reflects on some of the differences between the traditional reel harvesters and the Gates Harrow machines. “Using the Gates Harrow frees up a lot of people to do other work that needs to get done. It’s moves a lot faster, too; the only problem is you have to pick ahead so you can get the timing right for gathering and keep the water flowing.” He also thinks the new machines pick a lot cleaner than the regular ones. “I think there’s less damage to fruit with the Gates Harrow; it combs the berries off vines, which makes harvest easier on vines, as well.”
Having the additional machine still makes things easier for a crew using the traditional reel harvesters. “It’s nice having two this year,” Jeremy says. “With two you can keep three crews running smoothly with no hold-ups getting the fruit to the packing house. It works out very well.”
Harvest is in full swing, and Pine Island has three picking crews and one clean-up crew working as hard as they can to bring the crop in! But that’s not the only thing going on around the place.
Work continues on the care of the young beds, with New Production manager Mike Haines making sure our newly planted acres are getting everything they need. “I still get out there and check them every day,” he says. At this time of year, we’re not putting on fertilizer, but he likes to make sure they’re getting enough water. CEO Bill Haines strongly believes the most important part of being a grower is knowing your land and getting your feet in the bog, and Mike has taken that to heart. “Mostly, I’m getting out there to familiarize myself with how they grow; I check every day on the growth of roots and runners. That way I know for future reference how quickly they grow, and learn the cause and effect of each process.” He says it’s also highly interesting to see the relationship of different soils to water (we used mined sand for some of the new acreage, as opposed to what was already in the bed pre-renovation), and the subsequent effect on the plants.
Other ongoing tasks include preparing to install 2-inch underdrain at Old 11 Acre (“We need to wait until they’re nearly dormant,” Mike says. “The greener they are the more likely they’ll be damaged by the instalation), while the equipment team fills in the gaps between harvest repairs by servicing the Hydremas and other machinery not being used for the harvest. “Mostly we’re out there fixing the stuff they break,” says equipment team member Coco Mercado. “But in the meantime, we’re keeping busy and trying to stay ahead of the maintenance schedule!”
Welder Fren Henschel, in the meantime, is working on a new piece for the bogside cleaner, which he’s hoping to test ASAP!
Pine Island Cranberry was pleased to host a visit yesterday from George Giorno at Ocean Spray, who brought along his associates Greg McCann, Vinny Bergamini, and Jim Falese (from Advantage Sales and Marketing) and Alexandra Von Nessen and Steve Salerno (from Wakefern Corporation). They work closely with George and Ocean Spray on marketing and distribution, and were happy to have the opportunity to see a cranberry harvest in action!
The morning started at our main office with a brief introduction to the business from CEO Bill Haines, who then led the group out to see our hard-working crews getting the harvest in! At our first stop, Bill was able to give them a closer view of the inside of a cranberry as well as the bud set on the vines for next year’s crop.
Subsequent stops included a chance to see our Gates Harrow harvester in action, as well as our traditional gathering crew and a stop at the packing house platform.
Everyone asked some really fantastic questions and also had a wonderful time, according to Greg McCann: “The tour was very enlightening! I have been to numerous plant tours over the course of my career, but never to the origin, where the process begins. To be able to see the cranberries harvested, and even pick one off the bush, was an amazing experience! I would recommend it to any customer who is on the Juice or Fruit Buying Desk!” For our part, we truly enjoy visiting with folks who show such enthusiasm and willingness to learn! As George himself said, “…we enjoyed sharing our passion about this wonderful little berry that’s afforded us a great brand of products to share and enjoy with the entire world!”
Thanks, George…and thank you, Greg, Vinny, Jim, Alex, and Steve, for taking the time out of your day to visit!
While it hasn’t been as bad as California, until this week New Jersey had been suffering its own dry spell–before Joaquin started getting closer! Fortunately, while steady, the rain this week hasn’t been as heavy, but there’s still a lot of work to do! Rain can be a blessing, but heavy downpours can lead to bog flooding and have an adverse effect on fruit quality. This is a challenge every day of the year, but during harvest, water management is crucial.
Before the rain started this week, GM Fred Torres had been worried about the water. “We’re starting harvest and it’s dry as a bone,” he said. “In previous years, when the water’s been high enough, we’ve been able to catch it down at Oswego. Now we’re pumping it right back into the reservoir, because we need it there. The other issue this time of year is frost. When there’s frost, we need a lot of water in the pump. So we have to be very careful with our usage. Of course, we can run the wells, but it’s expensive. We can say we need it, but then the question is, is it better to keep the reservoir where it is? We’re hoping to catch some of this rain water to keep reservoirs tip top. It’s a balancing act, especially this time of year!”
The producing bogs aren’t the only ones affected by the weather. “The new plantings get water three times a day. Since they don’t have the root system an established bog does they can go backwards more quickly,” explains New Production Manager Mike Haines. “They were actually holding up really well for a while; the drier beds were actually sending out more roots, which seemed logical to me…but again, you can’t have it too dry or the plants will get stressed. We’ve had to start watering more.” He is also working on an experiment with the ditch levels at the Warehouse renovation. “The big concern with heavy rains is always washout on the edges,” he says. “But now we have that coconut mat. So we’re raising the water to different levels in the ditches. We’ll see what happens.”
The rain started Tuesday night, and our team has been working to manage the water ever since! “Tuesday we got three inches of rain overnight,” supervisor Gerardo Ortiz says. “We’re putting boards in at the gates and some at the pumps so we can hold it a little bit. The reservoirs have to come up a couple more inches to get to the level we want; between the harvest and frost we’re going to need all we can get!” As of today, he was feeling positive: “We’ve had about five inches, but it’s coming slow and steady. That makes it a lot easier…and we really need it!”
It’s official: harvest has started at Pine Island Cranberry!
This week, harvest began at our Sim Place bogs, with supervisor Matt Giberson overseeing a hard-working team on the Gates Harrow and new bogside cleaner. Last week, Matt and his team (along with a staff member from Paul’s Machine & Tool) tested the cleaner on some newer bogs that aren’t yet producing much viable fruit, but now the real test has begun!
While setting up the boom remains the same, the bogside cleaner does the job of several machines, eliminating the need for an elevator, extra tractors, and the cleaning equipment at the packing house; instead, bog debris is removed from the fruit as it is gathered, and the loaded truck proceeds immediately to the Ocean Spray receiving station in Chatsworth.
“It’s going well, really well,” COO Bryan vonHahmann says. “We’ve come a long way in the last two weeks. There’s been a big learning curve, as expected. We’ve set some goals; by the end of the season, we want to have a truck loaded every twenty minutes, and we’ve just loaded one in eighteen. We have a few more modifications to make, and we’ll do those over the season, but we’re really pleased with where we’re at!”
The new technology isn’t the only thing Bryan is happy about: “The team has done a fantastic job taking on new tech and working through issues; no one is getting discouraged, just forging forward. They’re all very engaged.” He notes that the team leader has already picked up on many of the intricacies and called a brief halt to proceedings at one point because something sounded “off” to her. “She thought something didn’t sound ‘right’, and stop to check immediately. She didn’t find anything, but had the wherewithal to stop it as opposed to letting the machine run and possibly finding a bigger problem later on. She’s doing a great job.”
One of our top priorities at Pine Island Cranberry is efficiency; we’re always trying to find ways to become better growers! This includes being open to new methods as well as new equipment, and this week, our team tested the latter with our new bogside cleaner.
During the harvest, berries are placed on a truck via an elevator. The truck then goes to our packing house to unload and prep the berries for the receiving station by removing as much bog debris as possible. The bogside cleaner improves this process by removing the packing house step entirely and removing debris as the berries come out of the bog. “This is better on fuel and easier on the team,” explains supervisor Matt Giberson. “It should actually require fewer people in the water.”
Matt and his team tested the cleaner on some newer bogs that aren’t yet producing much viable fruit. (Young beds have yet to develop a dense canopy, and while they often yield fruit, a high percentage of that fruit contains rot.) This makes our young beds a good place to test run new equipment immediately pre-harvest. “It’s always a learning process,” Matt says. “We tried it for three days on different bogs to learn some of the variables and how we’ll need to adjust.” Among those changes were oil pressure on the pump (“That made a world of difference”, says Matt), bog shape, and amount of debris. Older bogs, especially at Sim Place, may have more roots pulled up with the rake on the Gates Harrow, which can cause the machine to jam. “We may need to make changes to the sprayer that we keep in the bog itself,” Matt says. “We’re thinking maybe adding a grate to that will help stop more branches, grass, weeds…all that fun stuff.”
“We’re going to need to make some more changes along the way,” Matt says, “but that’s what we always do! I think it’s going to make a huge difference.”
Our 2015 bog reno is done and for the grand finale, our team finished with the inaugural planting of the new Rutgers Haines variety!
From Integrity Propagation’s April release:
The Haines™ Cranberry Variety…resulted from a 1999 cross between the Crimson Queen® variety as the seed parent and #35 as the pollen parent. The #35 variety is an unpatented variety from a ‘Howes x Searles’ cross from the 1940s USDA/NJAES Cranberry Breeding Program. Haines variety was one of 138 progeny of this 1999 cross, made at the Philip E. Marucci Center for Cranberry Research in Chatsworth, NJ. Haines variety was initially selected for its very high yield potential, mid-season ripening, large round berry (averaging about two grams per berry) and uniform fruit color. In 2007, the Haines variety was selected for further testing in advanced replication selection trials in Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin. The plots continued to exhibit the variety’s consistent high yields with mid-season ripening. Haines has also exhibited less fruit rot than Stevens in these plots.
“We’re putting Haines in on a ten acre bog, but since it’s a new variety, stock is still low, so we ended up planting 8 acres and will finish in spring,” explains New Production Manager Mike Haines. “Those eight acres only took two days, with an average of 4.25 acres a day. That’s really good. And we did it with no late nights; we worked from 7 to 5:30 and our numbers were up from the previous record of 3.5 acres/day.” When asked why, he says, “There are lots of reasons. Every year, there are mistakes you learn from. That’s one improvement. The land is well cleared; there were no stumps that can cause a momentary halting of the process. We concentrated on having both planters make the longest passes possible through the bed, which means we have to make fewer turns, which increases our efficiency.”
Planting a new variety is not without its challenges! “We finished up with hand planting, and I was pretty nervous about going back and forth between the Haines bog and the Mullica Queens,” Mike says. “Making sure we didn’t create any inadvertent hybrids was a little nerve-wracking!” He is hopeful for the expected higher yields and increased rot resistance, as well: “If you have your name on it, you especially want to get good results.”
*Photo credits, top and bottom photos: Nadine Haines.
This past weekend, Pine Island Cranberry celebrated our 125th anniversary of living, working, and growing in the pines by holding an open house at our main office in Hog Wallow.
“It was a great day for Pine Island, for the family, and for the team,” says CEO and fourth-generation grower-owner Bill Haines. “It was a great turnout, and we had great weather. And we are really honored that so many of our friends and business friends took the time to come to our celebration.”
We truly did have beautiful weather, and greatly enjoyed seeing everyone who made an appearance! It was fantastic to see such a great turnout…from our elected officials to our fellow growers to some of our favorite vendors, as well as our extended family, friends, and last but definitely not least, one of the best teams in the business!
Finally: this event would not have been possible without both our committee and the hardest-working team in Burlington County. Thank you, so much, to Fred Torres, Louis Cantafio, Bryan vonHahmann, Mike Guest, Carlos Baez, Nadine Haines, Holly Haines, Becca Fenstermaker, and last but not least, Debra Signorelli, who does the work of ten people, every single day.
* All photographs courtesy of Ben Ruset.
Planting started last week on the latest bog reno project, and it’s moving along faster than ever! While in previous years we’ve started the fall planting after the harvest, we moved that forward in 2014 in order to take advantage of the weather, the longer daylight hours, and the increased team availability.
There are two methods of planting: conventional propagation, which means pressing mowed vines or prunings directly into the bogs to be established; and rooted cuttings, which means planting plants with roots already established. Pine Island has used both methods in the past; however, this year we will be using rooted cuttings. Another concern with planting is implementing an irrigation program, both with ground water and sprinklers, that provides moisture for vine growth without causing excessive soil saturation, which can lead to favorable conditions for phytopthora, which in turn can lead to fruit or root rot. Pine Island uses both ditches and sprinklers for irrigation. During the early spring, after the winter flood is removed, irrigation is usually covered by our frost protection program. However, concerns for adequate soil moisture should not be forgotten during frost season. Several warm, sunny days without rain or frost irrigation can result in the need for irrigation. Checking the soil yourself is extremely important; tensiometers are good, but it’s important to learn the hands-on method, as well.
So far our teams are averaging about four acres per day, which is fantastic. “So far the weather’s been with us,” says New Production Manager Mike Haines. “But another big change is with our equipment.” In the past, our planting team would have to first lower a cage containing the rooted cuttings into the new beds, then team members would need to manually switch the trays from the cage to two carts, each attached to a separate tractor. “Bob Shinn designed a different kind of wagon for us where we can actually put the cage right onto the wagon,” Mike says. “This eliminates a step, plus we can fit more on each wagon, so one tractor can serve both planters. A smaller crew and fewer pieces of equipment means planting more acres per day. We planned for 19 days of work, and we’ve definitely shaved a couple days off. I just hope the weather keeps cooperating!”
The rest of the process remains the same: rooted cuttings are taken from the cart and loaded onto the planter. Team members seated on the planter drop the vines into the carousel and then the vines are distributed into the pre-dug furrow. The planter is followed by other crew members, who make sure that the vines have been placed correctly.
And in about three years, we should see some great results!